Thai PM declares states of emergency at Bangkok airports

BANGKOK, Nov. 27 Kyodo -
(EDS: UPDATING, ADDING PAD REACTION)
Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared states of emergency Thursday
night at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports, calling for
antigovernment protesters who have caused suspension of flights at both
airports to be removed.

The questions now are whether the police and military might need to use force
to evict the protesters, or if the security apparatus will actually carry out
the orders.
Somchai appointed Interior Minister Kowit Watana as the director to control the
whole situation, while Metropolitan Police chief Suchet Muankaew and Provincial
Police Region One Commissioner Chalong Sonchai will head the operations.
Suchart is responsible for Don Muang while Chalong is responsible for
Suvarnabhumi.
According to the announcement, the operation heads can ask for help from
military if necessary.
Somchai said the government had to impose the measures to deal with protesters
who have occupied Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports and the PAD movement
damaged the country's economy and stability.
For the emergency, Somchai gave full power to police rather than the military
as was the case when then Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej also declared an
emergency to deal with protest chaos in early September.
Emergency decrees allow the premier to order or appoint officers to handle
situations.
The premier can also set regulations to control the situation, including
prohibiting people from leaving their residences at certain times, broadcasting
or publishing news that could make the situation escalate and gathering in
places that could result in disorder.
Somchai said current emergencies are a temporary measure to bring the situation
back to normal.
''This announcement is declared because I want to pave the way for officials to
continue their work, I don't have intention to hurt or attack people,'' he
said. ''Please realize that suffering would occur if you bring the country and
people as the hostages...as the premier, I have to bring peace back.''
Somchai also said he tried to cooperate with military leaders and commanders
reaffirmed they will not stage a coup because they have to maintain peace and
security.
The declarations of emergency are designed to have the airports reopened to
regular air traffic.
PAD leaders earlier vowed to continue the protests and prepare security guards
to deal with operations of the authorities.
After the announcement, the PAD leadership said it was already well-prepared by
moving protesters into the buildings and forming ''human shields'' at all the
doors.
''We will continue to fight all we can and if there will be success in
dispersing us from the two airports, we will try to come back. In addition we
will block all every intersection in Bangkok and occupy all provincial halls
all over the country,'' said Somkiat Phongphaiboon, a member of the opposition
Democrat party.
The emergencies took effect shortly before 9 p.m. as Somchai made an official
announcement on national television.
Security sources told Kyodo News it is ''unlikely'' the authorities will resort
to force to remove the protesters from the airports.
Culture Minister Worawat Ur-apinyakul said earlier the Thai Cabinet agreed to
use the law against People's Alliance for Democracy and its supporters,
including terrorist charges and the Money laundering Act.
He also said Somchai will continue to stay in Chiang Mai, where he has been
since returning from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Lima
earlier this week.
Earlier, Somchai urged the military to ''stay calm'' and dismissed rumors he
planned to sack the army's commander-in-chief, the government spokesman said.
Somchai also urged military personnel to remain in their barracks.
His assurance of support for the military leaders came a day after army chief
Anupong Paochinda called for new elections.
Anupong's recommendation was made after he met Wednesday with government
officials, private-sector leaders, academics, economists and security
personnel.
On Thursday, hundreds of antigovernment protesters headed to Chiang Mai in an
effort to prevent the Cabinet meeting called by Somchai to discuss measures to
deal with the massive protests in Bangkok that shut down the country's two main
airports and stalled parliamentary proceedings.
Chiang Mai is regarded a stronghold of Somchai and his People Power Party.
The province of the same name is where he began his career as a judge and is
where his wife is from.
It is also where his daughter won a seat in last December's general election.
The Cabinet met in Chiang Mai to avoid the massive protests in Bangkok against
Somchai's government and the People Power Party, formed by loyalists to ousted
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Somchai, who has insisted he would not step down or dissolve the Parliament as
his government was elected democratically, flew to Chiang Mai instead of
Bangkok after the APEC summit.
The Cabinet also assured that Thailand will host the Association of South East
Asian Nations leaders' summit scheduled for Chiang Mai in mid-December as
planned.
There had been suggestions the summit be postponed, but the Thai government is
determined to end the political crisis before the meeting.
Earlier Thursday, Bangkok's Don Muang domestic airport suspended operations due
to the protests that shut down Suvarnabhumi international airport from late
Tuesday.
The decision to close Don Muang for security reasons came after about a
thousand protesters, who have been staging protests at the interim government
seat at the same airport, entered its passenger terminal Wednesday night for a
short time.
A civil court ruled late Wednesday that the Suvarnabhumi airport's occupation
is illegal and ordered PAD leaders to bring protesters out of the airport.
The PAD activists, who have occupied Government House in central Bangkok since
August, began their antigovernment protests May 25 and continued even after
then Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was unseated by the Constitutional Court
in early September.
==Kyodo